Wedding March
by EllieT33
Summary: Casey Walks down the aisle and Derek waits.
1. Chapter 1

AN: I don't own Life with Derek. Read and review I love feedback!

Love, Ellie

Here comes the bride

If you had told me 15 years ago that I'd be standing here watching both our fathers walking her down the aisle I would've said you were crazy. Who would want to marry Space Case.

If you had told me ten years ago that I would be standing here in a black suit with a pink tie, I would've laughed in your face for even suggesting it. All the while knowing full well that Casey would be the only woman who could get me in a suit. She always was the exception.

If you had told me five years ago that I'd be here. I would curse myself for being such a masochist knowing she'd rope me into 95% of the wedding planning. She always needs my opinion on everything.

So you'd think that five months ago when I was told I'd be the best man in her wedding, I would've been happy.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: I don't own Life with Derek. Read and review I love feedback!

Love, Ellie

Five months - Monthly Family Dinner

"Marti can you pass the potato's" Ed asked over the conversation happening between Simon and Liz. Something about a protest for sea turtles and plastic straws. "Only if you pass the rolls." His youngest sister replied.

"Everyone we have an announcement to make!" Casey began with one of her big smiles. You know the one that lights up the room.

"They finally got the tests back; you really are an alien?" I replied with a smile and no bite. Over the years we had become friends. Good friends, Best Friends, we teased each other but it was never malicious.

"Der-ek! No, Jason asked me to marry him and I said yes." She beamed holding out her hand to show the ring. It was then in that moment my world stopped.

I smiled and congratulated them both, said all the right things. when she asked me to be the best man I replied yes in a daze. I acted like the brother I never was, step or not. I made an excuse about having early practice the next morning and took my leave.

48 hours later after the worst bender of my life. I woke up to incessant knocking on my front door.

"Wake... Up... D!" Marti yelled at the top of her lungs thankfully my nearest neighbor is about a mile away so no one will call the cops.

I ran my hand through my hair as I walked towards the sound of my evil baby sister.

As soon as I opened the door a very colorful blur burst through.

"Casey won't stop calling me asking why you won't answer, and why you left early on Friday. Because my neurotic sister has all your practices written down on her personal calendar, and her work calendar. I had to make up some excuse halfway through Saturday that you broke your phone." She finally took a break from her stream of consciousness. "Jesus Wept, look at you! You look like you're one shot away from having your stomach pumped. How the fuck don't you have Alcohol poisoning?!"

"Practice." I deadpanned. "Wait is that coffee?" I asked staring at the two cups of Tim Horton's coffee.

"Yes, but you don't get it until you've showered and changed." She held the coffee just out of my reach. I sighed because I knew she was right I really needed a shower. So, I walked towards the stairs to head up to my room.

I came back downstairs into the kitchen about 30 min later and Marti gave me the cup of black coffee I desperately needed.

"So, are we gonna talk about it? Or ignore the elephant in the room that suspiciously looks like a carrot and a half diamond ring?" She started pointedly.

"Why would we need to talk about it? Casey is getting married. So what?" I replied trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. I missed the mark.

"Why would we need to talk about it? Let me see. Casey your Best friend of 10 years and stepsister of 15 just announced she's getting married. After dating a man for four months. A man who lives in America. A man who's kinda a dick. I'm assuming she didn't tell you it was getting that serious based on your reaction, which is strange because she tells you everything. And most importantly the man she's marrying isn't you." She finished her rant with a deep sigh.

"Smarti... she's getting married. I don't know what's worse, that she didn't tell me first or that it's happening at all." I didn't notice the tears falling down my face. My shoulders sagged and I pinched the bridge of my nose. "The worst part is she wants me to be the Best Man, how am I supposed to do that? It's not like I can say 'no I can't be your best man because I've been in love with you forever, and just being in the room period will probably break me.' that will go over like a lead balloon."

She just stood there staring at me. I wasn't sure if it was because I was crying for the first time since we found out Abby had liver cancer. Or the fact that for the first time in 15 years I admitted to loving Casey.

"Oh Smerek, you've never told her? Not even once? I thought you were at least together during college." She responded sympathetically.

"No, I never told her. I came close, a couple times in college, and once a couple of years ago. But we were always interrupted, or I chickened out. I knew no matter how she felt, she would never choose me over the family, I couldn't put her in that position." I sighed thinking about my past mistakes.

"So, that's it, you're just going to let her marry him?" she asked flabbergasted.

"Yes." I replied defeated.

"Why?!" she asked incredulously.

"He makes her happy… and I can't." I finished with defeat in my voice.

Marti stared at me for a good thirty seconds before she responded "I hope you know what you're doing, no matter how happy it makes her, if you can't handle it drop out. I can't lose you like I lost Mom," She turned around and started to walk towards the front door, "Come on get your shit I'm taking you to practice."


	3. Chapter 3

AN: I don't own Life with Derek. Read and review I love feedback!

Love, Ellie

Cake Testing: Four Months Until Wedding

"That one tastes the best" I said exasperatedly.

"You've said that about the last five cakes you tried." she responded rolling her eyes.

"No, that coconut cake was awful." I responded cheekily.

"I'm going to go with vanilla sheet cake and red velvet for the actual cake." she decided spontaneously. although it was probably less spontaneously and more because she can read me like a book. She made the order and I got our things ready to leave. she grabbed my arm and we began walking out the door.

"There's a Wedding Boutique down the way I wanted to stop and try on a couple of dresses." she stated expecting me to go along with her plan. which is why she was so surprised when I said

"No."

"No?" she responded incredulously.

"No. Casey I would take a bullet for you. I will go cake tasting and stationary shopping, hell I'll even help you register at Crate and Barrel. I will not watch you try on dresses. I can call Marti, Liz, Nora, or Emily and get at least one of them here in ten minutes. I'm putting my foot down, I'm not going to do this, I would officially have to hand over my Man Card. Jesus Case, it's not even my wedding." I almost begged.

"I don't get why you won't go. I mean it's girly but it's not THAT bad." She replied with a sigh.

_Because seeing you in a wedding dress makes it **real**._

I wasn't exactly sure how to respond to her, I was way out of mt depth at this point. I needed advice from someone who wasn't my little sister. It was days like this that I missed Sam. Besides Casey, Sam had been the only one who understood and could deal with me. He always knew what to say and would put me in my place if I was doing something stupid. Agreeing to be her best man for example. It has been almost ten years and it still hits me just as hard as it did in college.

December 2010 Sophomore Year at Queens

I was watching a hockey game on the couch, and she was reading with her toes underneath my left thigh. Waiting patiently for Sam and Emily to arrive, they were coming to visit over winter break. Casey's phone began to ring on the other side of the room, so she put her book on the table and went to go answer it.

"Emily how far out are you and Sam?" She asked cheerfully.

I turned to look at Casey about to ask the same question when I saw her face and watched the phone slipping out of her hands. She looked like she had seen a ghost.

"Case? What's wrong?" She was starting to scare me with her silence. "Casey, what's going on?"

"Accident." She replied clipped.

I jumped up and picked up the phone that miraculously hadn't broken.

"Hello? This is Derek Venturi what's going on." After the words 'for your loss' I zoned out completely. Sam and Emily had slid on a patch of black ice and gone off the road. Sam died on impact and Emily was had broken both legs and her left arm. I was lost. My best friend, my brother, was gone.

I hung up the phone and put it on the kitchen table next to the two of them. I began walking down our narrow hallway to my room when she shoved my back. I turned towards her while she kept hitting me and began to yell.

"It's Your fault! If you didn't have work this week, we would've gone back home instead of them coming up to Kingston." She replied in a rage. She wasn't crying and it was eerie, just anger and violence. It was a new side to Casey that I wasn't sure I wanted to get to know.

I let her get in about ten more punches and shoves. But when she raised her hand to slap me, I caught her by the wrist. She attempted to slap me with her other hand, and I caught it as well. I pushed her against the wall and waited for her to calm down.

"Enough... enough." I said almost silently. In the years that we'd been fighting I'd never used my full strength against her, until that night. I pinned her arms to the wall on either side of her head and stared her in the eyes pleading for her to calm down. I lowered his head, so our foreheads touched, closed my eyes letting everything sink in, while a single tear fell down my left cheek.

And that's when Casey's dam broke and she began to sob. I let go of her wrists fully expecting her run to her room and cry into her pillow. What I wasn't expecting was her wrapping her arms around me and holding on for dear life. I put my left arm around her back and my right hand holding her head into my right shoulder.

We stood there for almost half an hour while she sobbed in my arms, and I held her with silent tears streaming down my face. As she began to pull away, I took her face in my hands and kissed her on the forehead. I took her hand pulled her towards the couch with me. I laid down on the couch pulled her on top of me fixed it so the blanked covered them both of us.

When I woke up in the morning she wasn't there, honestly, I wasn't expecting her to be.

That was the night that our friendship began. It was the first of many moments between us that after they happened, we never spoke about again. Something changed between us the night Sam died. It was as if we realized that we were in this together, the only bit of home we had. We weren't just stuck with each other anymore; we chose to be a part of each other's lives.


	4. Chapter 4

Three months until the wedding

**_VENTURI FALLS APART AS CASEY MACDONALD PLANS WEDDING_**

**_CASEY MCDONALD REGRETTING HER CHOICE ON FIANCE_**

**_MCDONALD AND VENTURI SEEN OUT TOGETHER _**

You would think that over the years I would have learned to ignore the magazines at the check-out line, but here I was waiting on the line to move forward. I also have a tendency to google myself now and again. I was having the best season of my career, and all anyone could focus on was my stepsister's impending nuptials. Marti was still calling me about three times a day making sure I hadn't committed some form of suicide. Every time she asks me if I'm okay, and every time I say yes. Yet the entirety of my received call list is from Smarti with the occasional Casey. I loath the fact that I live for those calls. I hate that part of myself that still wishes for her to change her mind so that I can be happy. That selfish part of myself that still craves her attention, even for however little that amount of time is.

I used to regret my inaction, second guess what could have been. But what ifs are for dreamers. I've never been a dreamer, but this loving someone for half your life, and watching them marry someone else, is a special kind of nightmare.

And. I. Can't. Wake. Up.

"Pink. Seriously Nora did it have to be pink?" I asked as I put on the tie.

"It's what she wants Derek, you know she's been planning this her whole life." Nora responded.

"Somehow I don't think she imagined ME in the wedding." I chuckled as I began tying my shoes after finishing my last fitting. Nora gave me an unreadable look, then shook her head as if to clear her head. At that moment I realize Marti probably wasn't the only family member that was team Dasey. I'm not sure if I feel better or worse at that realization.

"Maybe not, but you of all people belong at the end of that aisle. You too never do anything important apart." Nora replied with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. Yep she was definitely team Dasey.

We walked out the door and Nora headed to her car with a wave, after all these years I would be utterly lost without my Stepmother. She was there for me in way that Abby never was.

I waved back when I heard my phone ringing, I took it out of my phone and answered it, "Jeez Smarti, I swear I'm not going to slit my wrists!"

"Why would you slit your wrists?" a female voice that was distinctly not Marti.

"Just got done with suit fitting, you know how much I hate shopping." I responded coolly I really was Lord of the Lies. I guess some things never really change.

"D wearing a pink tie is not going to kill you, you can take it off right after pictures." She laughed reminding them both of another conversation from years ago.

"You owe me a drink McDonald, and at least two casseroles." I replied with a sigh.

God I am going to miss her.

Senior Year at Queens

Casey walked in the front door of their shared apartment after finishing her he last final ever. Well… undergrad she still had to get through her master's in creative writing.

"Honey I'm home!" she yelled in her best Ricky Ricardo impression.

"Hello Love, I'm sorry I don't have dinner on the table…" he walked out of the kitchen and was met with one of the biggest smiles he'd ever seen on her face. "I'm guessing the final went well?"

"Yes! I'm officially done with my undergrad degree!" She yelled as she jumped into his arms and he spun her around. When he put her back on her feet, she put her hands on his shoulders and had a panicked look cross her face. "What am I going to wear to graduation!/? It's only a few weeks away!"

"Just do what I'm going to do jeans and a Queens hoodie." He responded with the smirk that had practically be glued to his face since the day he was born.

"DE-REK You will not be wearing jeans and you will be at least wearing a button up with a tie" she half yelled.

"But Caseyyy no ties! I hate those things." He whined.

"D wearing a tie is not going to kill you, you can take it off right after pictures." She pleaded.

"You aren't going to budge on this are you?" He asked learning over the past four years that he should choose his real battles. It was fine to argue over the remote, but when it was super important to her and of no consequence to him, he'd let her have it.

"Not even a little." She replied with a smile knowing that she won.

"You owe me a drink McDonald, and at least two casseroles." He sighed. God he was going to miss her when he moved to Toronto for training and she stayed for her masters.

He was going to miss her.


End file.
